In the cold night, Wang Gui directed palace servants to quietly carry the Crown Princess’s corpse out and hang it from a tree.

The cold wind cut like knives. Below the tree was accumulated残雪 (remnant snow). As the person hanging from the tree swayed back and forth, icicles from the treetop rustled down, scattering all over the palace servant.

Wang Gui stood at some distance. When the palace servant walked over, he warned with a stern face, “If you breathe a single word of today’s events to anyone else, your life will be forfeit.”

The palace servant who had just carried the Crown Princess’s corpse trembled all over. “This slave absolutely dares not speak out of turn!”

The frozen-hard road was gradually left behind. Returning to the Crown Prince’s side, Wang Gui finally felt he had come back to life. “Your Highness, everything has been arranged. Soon someone will discover the Crown Princess who committed suicide by hanging…”

At this moment, the Crown Prince finally felt fear.

What he feared was not the act of strangling the Crown Princess itself, but rather Emperor Tai’an’s reaction.

“Do you think Father Emperor will suspect the Crown Princess’s cause of death?” After pacing around the room once, the Crown Prince asked Wang Gui.

Wang Gui dared not guarantee anything, but facing the Crown Prince on the verge of collapse, he could only console him. “As long as those who know keep their mouths tightly shut, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. You were assassinated at the Crown Princess’s natal family—everyone in court knows the Wuning Marquis Manor will face punishment. It wouldn’t be strange for the Crown Princess to commit suicide out of worry and self-blame.”

Hearing this, the Crown Prince nodded.

Before long, disorderly footsteps sounded. Someone came running frantically to report, “Your Highness, the Crown Princess has committed suicide by hanging!”

“Quickly go report to Father Emperor!”

In the Eastern Palace, chaos erupted once more.

What the Crown Prince didn’t know was that Emperor Tai’an had long since learned the news of the Crown Princess’s death, and even knew clearly which tree in the Eastern Palace the Crown Princess had been hung from.

It wasn’t that he had intentionally monitored them, but after the assassination incident, the Crown Prince’s emotions had been unstable. Emperor Tai’an was uneasy, which was why he had arranged for people to watch the Eastern Palace’s movements.

Who would have thought that while watching, the Crown Prince would give him a tremendous “surprise.”

Emperor Tai’an went to the Eastern Palace. Consort Zhuang and others who had received the news also went to the Eastern Palace together.

As soon as the Crown Prince saw Emperor Tai’an, he cried, “Father Emperor, the Crown Princess has committed suicide.”

“Suicide?”

“Wuu wuu wuu, she came to see your son, and was scolded away by your son. Who knew that on the way back she would hang herself…”

Facing the Crown Prince’s dramatic tears, Emperor Tai’an truly found it somewhat unbearable to watch.

If you’re going to pretend, at least make it convincing!

Under众目睽睽 (everyone’s watchful eyes), Emperor Tai’an could neither expose the Crown Prince nor suppress his anger. He said coldly, “Are all the palace servants accompanying the Crown Princess dead?”

The Crown Prince’s crying hitched as he looked toward Wang Gui.

Wang Gui lowered his head, trembling as he said, “When the Crown Princess came to see the Crown Prince, she only brought one palace maid to carry the lantern.”

He turned slightly to the side. A palace maid prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. “This slave deserves death, this slave deserves death! This slave was carrying the lantern to light the way for the Crown Princess. Who knew that when I turned around, the Crown Princess had disappeared. By the time this slave found the Crown Princess, the Crown Princess had already—”

Emperor Tai’an looked coldly at the palace maid for an instant, then said flatly, “Indeed deserving of death.”

With these words, he undoubtedly pronounced the palace maid’s death sentence.

The palace maid’s whole body trembled and she collapsed limply to the ground. Soon two palace servants came forward to drag her away.

Wang Gui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately today, the Crown Princess had only brought one palace maid with her. There was only this one palace maid to threaten.

The palace maid knew she couldn’t live, but she still had family. To protect her family’s safety, she would naturally speak according to his requirements.

Now that the Emperor had spoken, it made things even more convenient.

Sweeping a glance at those present, Emperor Tai’an said to Consort Zhuang, “The Crown Princess’s funeral arrangements—I’ll trouble my beloved consort to oversee them.”

Consort Zhuang hastily said, “Your Majesty rest assured, this consort will arrange everything properly.”

“You may all withdraw as well.”

“Yes.”

Next, those who should handle funeral arrangements handled funeral arrangements, and those who should return to sleep returned to sleep. Emperor Tai’an asked the Crown Prince without revealing his emotions, “How did things between you and the Crown Princess reach this point?”

The Crown Prince’s heart tightened. He said regretfully, “Your son was unhappy because his left hand is useless. When I saw the Crown Princess, I scolded her a few times. Who knew she would be so unable to cope—”

Without others present, the Crown Prince still insisted on denying everything to the death. This made Emperor Tai’an look at him a few extra times.

The little prince in his memory who would sweetly call him Father Emperor, carefree and without worries, had ultimately developed his own schemes.

Looking at this face that bore some resemblance to his own, Emperor Tai’an found it hard to imagine the scene not long ago when the Crown Prince strangled his first wife.

Emperor Tai’an had been able to seize the throne precisely because he was ruthless and merciless. But being ruthless to others felt like nothing, while discovering his son was so ruthless to his first wife gave rise to vigilance.

Someone who could kill his wife in a moment of impulse—who knew what else he might do in another moment of impulse.

Of course, this thread of vigilance was currently like inconspicuous spring grass that had just sprouted a tiny shoot—it couldn’t shake the Crown Prince’s position in Emperor Tai’an’s heart in the slightest.

“Yuan’er, let this also remind you to keep your composure when encountering situations in the future. You must think through everything before speaking, otherwise you might provoke trouble.” Emperor Tai’an instructed with profound meaning.

“Your son understands.”

After Emperor Tai’an left, the Crown Prince breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Finally managed to cover it up.

“Wang Gui, keep a close watch on the palace servants preparing the Crown Princess’s body for burial. Don’t let any more trouble arise.”

“Your Highness rest assured. Those responsible for these matters are all trustworthy people.”

The Crown Prince nodded. Weariness struck him, and lying down on the bed he fell into a deep sleep, actually sleeping dreamlessly through the night.

The next day it began snowing again. Large snowflakes fell to the ground, spreading a silver carpet that was quickly destroyed by hurrying passersby.

Compared to the Crown Prince who had slept well through the night, the Wuning Marquis Manor receiving news of the Crown Princess’s death felt as if trapped in a dream.

The Crown Princess had committed suicide?

The Wuning Marquis’s wife rolled her eyes back and collapsed.

“Madam, Madam—” The maids turned pale with fright and helped support her.

The Wuning Marquis’s wife caught her breath and wailed loudly, “My Qiang’er—”

The Wuning Marquis trembled his lips without speaking.

“Marquis, Madam, please accept our condolences.” The person reporting the death offered a word of comfort before returning to the palace to report.

The Wuning Marquis’s wife grabbed the Wuning Marquis’s hand, crying heart-wrenchingly. “Marquis, why was Qiang’er so foolish? The Crown Prince’s assassination wasn’t her fault…”

The Wuning Marquis’s tone was heavy with grief. “Qiang’er did this for the Marquis Manor!”

The Crown Prince’s assassination was like a sharp blade suspended over the Wuning Marquis Manor, just waiting for the blade to fall to see whether it would be a superficial wound or something that hurt tendons and bones.

This all hung on the Emperor’s single thought.

Now that Qiang’er had committed suicide out of self-blame, even if the Emperor felt deep affection for the Crown Prince, he couldn’t possibly punish the Marquis Manor.

Beyond his grief over his eldest daughter’s tragic death, deep in the Wuning Marquis’s heart was also some inexpressible relief.

The Wuning Marquis Manor was safe now. Hua’er was safe now too.

When news of the Crown Princess’s suicide spread, the vast majority of people reacted the same as the Wuning Marquis: The Wuning Marquis Manor was safe now.

Indeed, afterward the Emperor not only did not issue an edict rebuking the Wuning Marquis Manor, but actually bestowed many things to show consolation. The matter of the Crown Prince being assassinated at his in-laws’ home passed just like that with the Crown Princess’s death.

And just as the palace was busy with the Crown Princess’s funeral arrangements, Jinlin Guard Commander Cheng Maoming, having heard a centurion’s report, fell into difficulty.